Scottish Executive

Agriculture

Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how it plans to protect Scottish agricultural interests in Europe.

Ross Finnie: The Executive represents Scottish agricultural interests in a variety of ways, including ministerial attendance at Agriculture Councils, official representation on working groups and direct discussions with the Commission. I am also closely involved in formulating the UK line on agriculture to ensure that Scottish interests are fully taken into account.

Air Services

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether route development funding for direct air links will be focused on low-cost or scheduled flights; which airports are being considered for such links, and what the reasons are for the position on this matter

Lewis Macdonald: The Interim Route Development Fund is intended to promote the creation of new air services from Scotland which provide the maximum benefit in terms of business links, inward investment and in-bound tourism, whether those services are low-cost or full service scheduled flights. It is potentially available to services operating from Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Glasgow Prestwick and Dundee airports together with those that are operated by Highlands and Islands Airports Limited.

Air Services

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding has been (a) committed and (b) spent in respect of route development for direct airlinks.

Lewis Macdonald: A total of £6.8 million has been allocated to the Interim Route Development Fund. This includes £1 million from Scottish Enterprise and £300,000 from Highlands and Islands Enterprise. Payments under the fund will be made only once services start.

Anti-Social Behaviour

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-32954 by Ms Margaret Curran on 20 January 2003, when the Sociable Neighbourhood National Co-ordinator completed the audit of local authorities and their strategies to tackle anti-social behaviour.

Ms Margaret Curran: Audits of the 32 local authorities took place between March and November 2001. Individual reports and recommendations were made to each local authority by the Sociable Neighbourhood National Co-ordinator. A report distilling the information from all 32 audits will be published in the spring and copies will be placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre.

Asylum Seekers

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what right to pre-school education the children of asylum seekers have.

Cathy Jamieson: The position of children and asylum seekers and refugees as regards provision in pre-school education is the same as for any other child of pre-school age resident in a local authority area. Prior to 1 April 2002, local authorities had the power to secure nursery education for all such children whose parents wish it and from that date, under the Standards in Scotland’s Schools etc. Act 2000, are under a duty to do so.

Central Heating

Ms Wendy Alexander (Paisley North) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) households and (b) pensioners' homes in the Renfrewshire Council area (i) benefited in 2001-02 and (ii) are expected to benefit in (1) 2002-03, (2) 2003-04 and (3) 2004-05 under its central heating installation programme.

Des McNulty: In 2001-02 Renfrewshire Council installed central heating in 121 dwellings under the Executive’s central heating programme. In 2002-03 they should install central heating in another 121 dwellings and in 2003-04 in 395 dwellings. All council stock in Renfrewshire should then have central heating.

  Fourteen housing association dwellings which lack central heating will have it installed in 2003-04. All housing association stock in the area will then have central heating.

  The managing agents for the programme in the private sector, Eaga, organise data by main postcode area, not local authority area. There is therefore no estimate of the number of owner-occupiers and private renters in the Renfrewshire council area who are eligible for the programme. Neither is the information currently available to make any estimate of demand in the PA (Renfrewshire and Argyll) postcode area. However, 873 heating systems had been installed in the PA area as at 31 December 2002.

Central Heating

Ms Wendy Alexander (Paisley North) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) households and (b) pensioners’ homes in the Renfrewshire Council area are estimated to be eligible for free central heating under its central heating installation programme.

Des McNulty: The central heating programme provides grant to install central heating, insulation and safety alarms in (a) dwellings owned by local authorities and housing associations which currently lack any form of central heating, and (b) dwellings occupied by home owners or private renters where the head of household or spouse is aged 60 or over and the dwelling lacks central heating. In both categories (a) and (b) some householders will be pensioners, but others will not. Information on the number of pensioners and non-pensioners benefiting from the programme is not collected.

  Renfrewshire Council have estimated that they have around 640 dwellings without central heating. They will be given grant to install central heating in all those dwellings by March 2004. One housing association in the area is taking part in the programme. It estimates that it has 14 dwellings without any form of central heating and, on current plans, it will be given grant to install central heating in them all by March 2004.

  The managing agents for the programme in the private sector, Eaga, organise data by main postcode area, not local authority area. There is therefore no estimate of the number of owner-occupiers and private renters in the Renfrewshire council area who are eligible for the programme. Neither is the information currently available to make any estimate of demand in the PA (Renfrewshire and Argyll) postcode area. However, 873 heating systems had been installed in the PA area as at 31 December 2002. The managing agents will continue to make every effort to alert eligible households to the offer of free central heating and to encourage them to apply. Those who apply should receive central heating by March 2006.

Central Heating

Ms Wendy Alexander (Paisley North) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the targets are for installations by the Eaga Partnership Scotland under its central heating installation programme in the Renfrewshire Council area in respect of (a) all households and (b) pensioners’ homes.

Des McNulty: Eaga manage the central heating programme for owner-occupiers and private renters. The main criteria for inclusion in the programme as administered by Eaga are that the head of household or spouse must be aged 60 or over and that the dwelling must lack central heating. In late 2000 the Executive estimated that around 40,000 households in the private sector met these criteria. All eligible households in the private sector should have central heating by March 2006. There is no separate target for Renfrewshire.

Community Safety

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding will be made available to each local authority or other relevant agency for the recruitment and maintenance of a network of community and neighbourhood wardens following its announcement on 17 December 2002.

Ms Margaret Curran: We are still considering who funding should be provided to and how it should be allocated. Further announcements will be made shortly.

Dentistry

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures have been taken to address any shortage of NHS dentists in Grampian.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: We acknowledge that access to NHS dental services in Grampian is becoming more difficult. That is why Grampian is one of the designated areas for the £1 million package which we introduced last August as part of a phased programme to improve recruitment and retention of dentists in Scotland. Although there are elements of the package which cover all areas of Scotland, there are enhanced incentives for designated areas.

  We are currently concluding discussions with the dental profession on a further phase of recruitment and retention measures which I hope to announce shortly.

Domestic Abuse

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Association of Independent Law Accountants made any contribution to the Scottish Partnership on Domestic Abuse.

Ms Margaret Curran: The association was not represented on the partnership. Neither did it respond to the consultation on the National Strategy to Address Domestic Abuse in Scotland.

Education

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will report on its proposals for music tuition in schools.

Mike Watson: Proposals relating to music tuition for children and young people are currently being considered by ministers. An announcement will be made as soon as possible.

Education

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the New Opportunities Fund about the PE and Sport in Schools Programme.

Mike Watson: We have liased closely with the New Opportunities Fund both before and since the launch of the PE and Sport in Schools Programme, which will provide £87 million across Scotland for sporting activities as well as new and improved sports facilities.

Education

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when education maintenance allowances will be made available to all eligible 16-year-olds.

Iain Gray: Education Maintenance Allowances will be made available to all eligible 16-year-olds across Scotland from the start of academic year 2004-05.

Education

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what additional costs would be incurred in rolling out the Education Maintenance Allowance scheme to all local authorities by May 2003.

Iain Gray: The Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) budget for 2003-04 is £5 million. This will provide funding towards the final year of EMA piloting. National rollout will commence during academic year 2004-05.

Enterprise

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much Netcon-X Enterprise Ltd receives each month per student from Scottish Enterprise for the provision of the Training for Work internet web design course.

Iain Gray: This is an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise.

Enterprise

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what criteria a company offering a Training for Work course in internet web design needs to meet to ensure that it is in a position to provide the course satisfactorily.

Iain Gray: This is an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise.

Enterprise

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what monitoring Scottish Enterprise undertakes in order to ensure that companies contracted to provide Training for Work courses continue to fulfil specified criteria.

Iain Gray: This is an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise.

Environment

Dorothy-Grace Elder (Glasgow) (Ind): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it plans to take following the decision of the European Parliament’s Petitions Committee to call for the closure of the cattle incinerator in Carntyne, Glasgow.

Allan Wilson: The European Parliament’s Petitions Committee has raised a number of important issues in relation to the Carntyne incinerator. I will give these careful consideration and, as I intimated to the committee when I met them, respond as soon as possible.

Equal Pay

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what analysis it has done on the effects of the policies of Her Majesty’s Government on the promotion of equal pay.

Ms Margaret Curran: The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with the UK Government on a wide range of issues, including policies to promote equal pay.

Equal Pay

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it has taken, other than through the Close the Gap campaign, to address the earnings differential between men and women.

Ms Margaret Curran: As an employer, the Scottish Executive is committed to carrying out an equal pay review. For further information regarding this, I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-27237 on 29 July 2002. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at:

  www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

  The Close the Gap Campaign is the main initiative supported by the Scottish Executive that focuses on raising awareness of the gender pay gap and to take steps to address it. More widely, the Scottish Executive is committed to mainstreaming equal opportunities in all its policies and legislation. Many of the Scottish Executive’s policies relating to education, training and economic development include reducing the barriers to women getting into work, being promoted at work or starting and maintaining a successful business.

Equal Pay

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what support it provides to people wishing to take their employers to industrial tribunals over pay differentials.

Ms Margaret Curran: The Scottish Executive is a partner in the Close the Gap Campaign, launched in 2001, to raise awareness of the gender pay gap and ways of tackling it. The Close the Gap Campaign information packs contain information about employees’ rights to equal pay and how employees can make a complaint about unequal pay to an Employment Tribunal. Employment law is a reserved matter.

  The Scottish ministers have made legal aid available in certain circumstances for legal representation before the Employment Tribunal in Scotland.

Fire Service

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its plans are for the future of the fire service.

Mr Jim Wallace: The Scottish Executive set out its plans for the fire service in Scotland in the consultation document The Scottish Fire Service of the Future , published on 30 April 2002. This provides the framework for taking forward changes needed in developing the fire service in Scotland in the 21st Century.

Fisheries

Elaine Thomson (Aberdeen North) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what assistance is being given to the fish processing industry.

Ross Finnie: The Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance Processing and Marketing Grant Scheme will continue to assist the processing sector.

  I have also asked the industry to consider how we might build on the achievements of the Fish Processing Action Plan and I look forward to receiving their proposals.

Flooding

Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-31653 by Allan Wilson on 27 November 2002, how the balance of the £5.2 million has been allocated to support flood risk-related initiatives.

Allan Wilson: In addition to the initiatives already funded, including the on-going support for Floodline, the Executive is taking forward a number of other flood risk-related initiatives which it proposes to support from the balance of the £5.2 million. These initiatives will be aimed at enhancing flood risk information, extending the coverage of flood warning schemes and supporting further research into flooding and climate change.

Food

Ms Margo MacDonald (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it intends to take to combat any detrimental impact of the EC Directive on food supplements on the provision of supplements, vitamins and minerals produced by UK companies whose production standards are outwith the directives.

Malcolm Chisholm: There is no specific disadvantage to UK manufacturers or their competitiveness compared with manufacturers from other member states. Implementation of the Directive will not immediately outlaw any products already on the UK market.

  The Executive intends to take advantage of Article 4 of the Directive which enables member states to allow, subject to criteria being met, the continued sale of products containing vitamin and mineral sources not yet on the permitted lists up until 31 December 2009.

  The Executive are committed to the view that, in the interests of consumer choice, the law should allow food supplements that are safe and properly labelled to be freely marketed.

Freight

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether freight facilities grants and track access grants currently available in Scotland will continue to be available, given the recent announcement by the Strategic Rail Authority that new applications for England for the next financial year will be closed from January 2003 and, if such grants will also be closed in Scotland, how it will deliver its target to remove 25 million lorry miles off roads and onto rail by March 2006.

Lewis Macdonald: These grants will continue to be available in Scotland. We are confident of achieving our target of freight facilities grant awards being made by March 2006 which will remove 25 million lorry miles from Scotland's roads each year by transferring freight to rail and water-borne modes of transport.

Freight

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the future of freight facilities and track access grants is in Scotland, given that the Strategic Rail Authority has announced that there will be no new grants of this type for 2003-04.

Lewis Macdonald: The freight facilities and track access grant schemes, as administered by the Scottish Executive, will continue to be available in Scotland. We remain fully committed to encouraging the modal shift of freight from road to rail and water. This is demonstrated by the increase in the freight facilities grant budget from £6.1 million in 1999-2000 to £14.4 million in 2003-04. The track access grant budget for 2003-04 is £1 million.

Freight

Alex Johnstone (North-East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on any reduction or abolition of freight facilities grants and whether it will make representations to Her Majesty’s Government on this matter.

Lewis Macdonald: The freight facilities and track access grant schemes, as administered by the Scottish Executive, will continue to be available in Scotland. We are in regular contact with the Strategic Rail Authority and with the Department for Transport about these schemes.

Housing

Brian Fitzpatrick (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much of the funds announced by the Minister for Social Justice in the ministerial statement on housing on 7 November 2002 will be made available to East Dunbartonshire Council

Ms Margaret Curran: My statement referred to the potential funding arising from the Prudential Regime and changes to the arrangements for funding local authority expenditure on private housing. In relation to the Prudential Regime it will be for individual local authorities not the Scottish Executive to determine how much, if any, extra borrowing they might be able to afford. In relation to the new arrangements for funding local authority expenditure on private housing, for 2003-04, our intention is to write to local authorities for advice on the extent to which they wish to covert existing borrowing consents within their agreed, overall single capital allocation to private sector housing grant. Final allocations will be determined when this information is to hand. Allocations for 2004-05 and beyond, when the new arrangements are fully implemented, will be determined in due course.

Housing

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what financial assistance is available to owner-occupier pensioners residing in blocks of flats owned by local authorities to participate in the installation of improved secure entry systems by the managing housing association.

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what financial assistance is available to owner occupiers with disabilities residing in blocks of flats owned by local authorities to participate in the installation of improved secure entry systems by the managing housing association.

Ms Margaret Curran: Financial assistance to owner-occupiers in blocks of flats mainly owned by local authorities or registered social landlords is provided through Housing Improvement and Repairs grants, administered by the local authority. Most grants are paid at the discretion of local authorities, at rates of up to 50% or up to 75%, depending on circumstances. The amount of grant which may be made available makes no distinction between types of owners. At present, installation of secure entry systems would not normally be eligible for grant, although it might be included with a wider programme of improvement, or if required to make the property suitable for a disabled occupant.

  The Scottish Executive intends to implement changes made in the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001, under which the installation of a main door entry-phone system in buildings in common ownership will be specifically identified as work eligible for grant. The amount of grant will depend on the income of the applicant.

Housing

Mr Keith Harding (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to assist local authorities to bring empty local authority housing stock back into use.

Ms Margaret Curran: The Empty Homes Initiative (EHI) provided funding of almost £24 million to help local authorities establish appropriate strategies and best practice, as well as bringing empty homes back into use. An evaluation report and research into case studies confirmed that the EHI made a positive contribution to addressing the problem of empty houses.

  Local authorities will now determine through their Local Housing Strategies the extent of the problem in their area and develop strategies for tackling the issue.

Multiple Sclerosis

Mr Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to fund and carry out research into multiple sclerosis.

Mr Frank McAveety: The Chief Scientist Office (CSO), within the Scottish Executive Health Department, has responsibility for encouraging and supporting research into health and health care needs in Scotland. CSO is largely a response mode funder of research and this role is well known and advertised throughout the health care and academic community.

  CSO is not currently directly funding any research projects into multiple sclerosis (MS) but would be pleased to consider funding research proposals for innovative MS studies of a sufficiently high standard. These would be subject to the usual peer and committee review.

NHS Hospitals

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Minister for Health and Community Care retains the ultimate decision over the location of the proposed new single site hospital for the Forth Valley.

Malcolm Chisholm: Decisions about the organisation and location of health services for an area, including hospital services, are matters for the relevant NHS board. Proposals for major changes to health services, such as those contemplated by Forth Valley NHS Board, require the approval of the Minister for Health and Community Care.

NHS Hospitals

Marilyn Livingstone (Kirkcaldy) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it is making in reviewing practices in hospital cleaning.

Malcolm Chisholm: As the recent Audit Scotland Report on Hospital Cleaning shows the NHS has made progress but there is a continuing need to raise standards. The report made an initial examination of compliance with the new NHS Quality Improvement Scotland Standards for Cleaning Services. It concluded that significant work to implement the standards has taken place in many NHS trusts. Each trust has agreed an action plan to work towards full implementation of the standards.

NHS Waiting Times

Brian Fitzpatrick (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average waiting times in weeks were, and how many patients were waiting for, a first appointment in the (a) child dental health, (b) conservation, (c) oral medicine, (d) oral surgery, (e) orthodontics, (f) periodontology and (g) prosthodontics department of the Glasgow Dental Hospital on or around (i) 31 July 2002, (ii) 31 0ctober 2002 and (iii) the most recent date for which figures are available.

Malcolm Chisholm: Information on out-patient waits is collected centrally only for the period from referral to a first out-patient appointment with a consultant. This information is collected at specialty level only.

  Due to technical difficulties with its patient information management system, Glasgow Dental Hospital has not been able to provide the Information and Statistics Division (ISD) of the Common Services Agency with information on waiting times for a first out-patient appointment. The Health Department’s Chief Dental Officer is discussing with North Glasgow University Hospitals NHS Trust how to achieve an early resolution of these difficulties.

  However, the Glasgow Dental Hospital has told the department that patients requiring urgent treatment are seen within one week, and any patient with a suspected diagnosis of oral cancer is seen immediately at the oral medicine rapid access clinic.

People with Disabilities

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive to what extent the voluntary sector is participating in the European Year of Disabled People 2003.

Des McNulty: In Scotland, the Scottish Executive has convened a steering group for the European Year of Disabled People 2003.

  Most of the organisations on the steering group are from the voluntary sector, including the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations. We will look to steering group members to promote EYDP through their networks and partnerships and facilitate participation by the voluntary sector.

People with Disabilities

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether events planned to mark the European Year of Disabled People 2003 will relate to both mental health disorders and physical disabilities.

Des McNulty: The Scottish Steering Group for the European Year of Disabled People (EYDP) includes organisations representing a broad range of impairment groups, including physical and sensory impairments, learning disability and mental illness. The steering group’s activities to mark EYDP will relate to a broad range of impairment groups.

People with Disabilities

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what events are planned to mark the European Year of Disabled People 2003 (a) throughout Scotland and (b) in north Ayrshire.

Des McNulty: For information on the activities planned by the Scottish steering group I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-33375 on 23 January 2003. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search . The Scottish steering group is focussing on national activity and has no plans for a local event in North Ayrshire.

  Local organisations may be planning their own events around Scotland. However, we are unaware at this stage of any specific events taking place in North Ayrshire.

  In addition, the Department for Work and Pensions is running a grant scheme for local and national projects. There are 22 successful projects in Scotland as follows.

  


National (Scotland-wide) 
  



Birds of Paradise Theatre Company Limited 
  

Working Towards Equality 
  



Deafblind Scotland 
  

From Isolation To Participation 
  



Ownership Options in Scotland 
  

Mainstreaming Ownership Skills Training 
  



Local 
  



Ayrshire Independent Living Network 
  

South Ayrshire fun day 
  



The State Hospital 
  

Calendar of Patients' Artwork 
  



North Lanarkshire Arts Association 
  

Community Open Arts Exhibition 
  



Project Ability 
  

Building Creative Bridges 
  



Kincardine and Deeside Disability Action Group 
  

Aberdeenshire Disability Advisory Group 
  



Survivors' Poetry Scotland 
  

Manifesto 
  



Inverclyde Council on Disability 
  

Accessible Infoclyde 
  



Glasgow Association for Mental Health 
  

Accessible Information Project 2003 
  



Fife College of Further and Higher Education 
  

Listen and Learn 
  



Leonard Cheshire Scotland 
  

Manifesto 
  



Inverness Access Committee 
  

What Barriers Face Disabled People Seeking Work? 
  



Computers and Integration Ltd 
  

Able to Communicate 
  



West Dunbartonshire Council: employment development for 
  people with disabilities 
  

Community Cafe/Social Firm 
  



Volunteer Centre Edinburgh 
  

The Volunteer Personal Development Project 
  



Barnardo's Scotland 
  

Our Lives - Snakes and Ladders 
  



Augment 
  

Mind Yer Heid 
  



Clackmannanshire Council 
  

ROAD - Raising Operators' Awareness of Disability 
  



Access to Training and Employment 
  

Aberdeen Business Disability Awareness Project 
  



Intowork 
  

Rights and Participation: A Scottish Perspective on Disability 
  and Access to Employment

People with Disabilities

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in the planning of events to mark the European Year of Disabled People 2003 (a) throughout Scotland and (b) in north Ayrshire.

Des McNulty: The Scottish Steering Group for the European Year of Disabled People 2003 announced its proposals for the year on 23 January. The steering group’s focus is on national activity. A range of activities is planned and progress is being made through the steering group.

  Some local events are being funded through the grant scheme run by the Department for Work and Pensions. The Scottish Executive has no role in administering this scheme.

Pharmacies

Shona Robison (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what response it intends to make to the recent Office of Fair Trading report on pharmacy services.

Frank McAveety: The Scottish Executive is currently considering the Office of Fair Trading report in detail and, in formulating its response is consulting widely with all key stakeholders.

Rail Network

Nora Radcliffe (Gordon) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive when it last met representatives of the Strategic Rail Authority and what issues were discussed.

Iain Gray: The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with the Strategic Rail Authority on wide range of issues.

Residential Care

Mr John Home Robertson (East Lothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding provision is being made for the payment of nursing home fees for 2003.

Frank McAveety: The Scottish Executive is, in partnership with local authorities, currently negotiating with the independent care home sector on the level of fees to be paid to homes from 1 April 2003. The Executive and COSLA have put to the sector an offer, which honours our earlier commitment to meet the fee levels recommended by the National Review Group.

Roads

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with Her Majesty's Government on the timescale for the completion of the M74 from Gretna to Carlisle.

Lewis Macdonald: The Executive is in regular contact with Her Majesty's Government on a range of transport issues in England with implications for Scotland, including construction of the M6 from Carlisle to Guards Mill at Gretna.

Scottish Executive Publications

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the costs were of printing, publishing and distributing Growing Support - A Review of Services for Vulnerable Families with Very Young Children .

Cathy Jamieson: We are still in the process of distributing this report. The total anticipated cost is likely to be £20,790.

Sustainable Development

Fiona McLeod (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will apply for membership of the Regional Government Network for Sustainable Development.

Ross Finnie: The Executive is considering this matter.

Teachers

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-30353 by Dr Elaine Murray on 24 October 2002, on what date the final year of the three-year funding commitment to the teacher release scheme will end; when  sportscotland will take a decision about reviewing the scheme; whether there has been any delay in the making of such a decision and, if so, whether the Executive will direct  sportscotland to take a decision on the matter; whether funding for the scheme has been fully utilised in each year that the scheme has been in operation; what the total cost of the scheme has been, and what the average cost of the scheme has been per day in each year of operation

Dr Elaine Murray: The three-year funding commitment will end on 31 March 2003. As I have said previously,  sportscotland is currently reviewing the scheme and a decision is expected following its council meeting in March.

  £150,000 was committed to this scheme and the information requested is in the following table.

  


Year 
  

Budget 
  

Actual Spend 
  

Average Cost Per Day 
  



2000-01 
  

£50,000 
  

£49,650 
  

£130 
  



2001-02 
  

£50,000 
  

£50,000 
  

£145 
  



2002-03 
  

£50,000 
  

£50,000 
  

£156

Transport

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will give a breakdown of (a) projects and (b) funding allocations under the £450 million package of transport improvements announced on 22 January 2003 and what the timetable of each project will be.

Lewis Macdonald: A breakdown of the projects and the consultants’ estimate of likely costs is contained within the Central Scotland Transport Corridor Studies - Decisions Report which is available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 26080) and on the internet at:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library5/transport/CSTCS_FinalDecisions.pdf.

  Preparations for the delivery of the major rail and roads projects have already begun. The Executive is setting up a Delivery Implementation Group consisting of key stakeholders who can play a significant role in assisting the delivery of the improvements.

Voluntary Sector

Karen Whitefield (Airdrie and Shotts) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what role the voluntary sector can play in delivering public services.

Ms Margaret Curran: The voluntary sector plays an important role in the delivery of public services.

  The Executive’s review of its policies to promote the social economy, which was published on 27 January, sets out how the Executive and other public sector and independent agencies might help the sector to realise its potential in this area. This is underpinned by £6 million of new funding over the years 2003-04 to 2005-06. Copies of the report are available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre.

Water Charges

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider applications from care home owners to the water industry hardship fund in light of the Court of Session decision in the case of Scottish Water v Clydecare Ltd.

Ross Finnie: The water industry hardship fund has been set up to assist those organisations suffering hardship as a result of having had their relief on water and sewerage charges withdrawn – care homes are already able to apply to the fund on this basis.